Cap Bon pottery town where blue-and-white ceramics fill workshops, markets, and medina lanes.
Nabeul is the pottery capital of Tunisia, and it wears that title openly. The town on the Cap Bon peninsula, about 65 km from Tunis, is lined with workshops and shops selling the distinctive blue-and-white glazed ceramics, terracotta pots, and tiles that have been made here for centuries. The weekly Friday market draws traders from across the region.
Beyond the ceramics, Nabeul has a pleasant old medina and a good beach. The Nabeul Museum holds important archaeological finds from the Phoenician site at Kerkouane and from Roman Neapolis — the ancient predecessor of the modern town — and is more rewarding than it looks from the outside. The town is quieter and more authentic than the resort strip further along the coast. It also serves as a useful base for exploring Cap Bon — the vineyards, citrus groves, and the Kerkouane ruins (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) are all within easy reach.
Be prepared for persistent salesmanship in the market and pottery shops. Bargaining is expected, and prices rarely start where they end.
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Day Trips from Nabeul
Nabeul sits in the middle of Cap Bon, one of Tunisia's most varied and accessible peninsulas. The Roman ruins at Kerkouane — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only intact Punic town surviving from antiquity — are about 40 km north along the coast and well worth a half-day. The drive along the cape passes through orange and lemon groves, vineyards, and small fishing villages.
Hammamet, the main beach resort town on Cap Bon, is 12 km south of Nabeul and easily combined in a day. The old medina at Hammamet, enclosed in walls overlooking the sea, is among the best-preserved in Tunisia. The cape's wine-producing villages — El Haouaria at the tip of the peninsula is a good target — are accessible by car and provide a contrast to the coastal resort strip.
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Getting There
Nabeul is about 65 km from Tunis and easily reached by road or rail. The train from Tunis to Nabeul runs several times daily (the line continues to Hammamet) and takes around 1.5 hours. Louages (shared taxis) depart from the Bab Alioua station in Tunis and are faster and more frequent, taking about an hour. By car, the GP1 highway south from Tunis to Grombalia connects to the Cap Bon road.
The nearest international airports are Tunis-Carthage (about 70 km) and Enfidha-Hammamet (about 80 km in the other direction along the coast).